Global warming threatens existence of tropical species.Byline: ANI Washington, August 26 (ANI): A new research has determined that global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. threatens the existence of tropical species, the ecosystem and its by-products. The research was done by herpetologist her·pe·tol·o·gy n. The branch of zoology that deals with reptiles and amphibians. [Greek herpeton, reptile (from herpein, to creep) + -logy. Laurie Vitt, curator of reptiles reptiles terrestrial or aquatic vertebrates which breathe air through lungs and have a skin covering of horny scales. They are poikilothermic, oviparous or ovoviviparous, and, if they have legs they are short and constructed solely for crawling. and George Lynn Cross George Lynn Cross (May 12 1905–December 31 1998) was the seventh and longest serving President of the University of Oklahoma from 1943 to 1968. His academic specialty was botany. He was an outspoken proponent of World War II who felt democracy should be defended at all costs. Research Professor at the University of Oklahoma's Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. Vitt has studied the ecology of lizards in rain forests around the world and, for the past 20 years, as part of a biodiversity biodiversity: see biological diversity. biodiversity Quantity of plant and animal species found in a given environment. Sometimes habitat diversity (the variety of places where organisms live) and genetic diversity (the variety of traits expressed project in the Amazon. As a fellow researcher on a study funded by the National Science Foundation, Vitt investigated the affects of global warming on tropical lizards and the diversity of the ecosystem. "We depend on these tropical lizards and other species of animals and plants for food, materials, and pharmaceuticals, but we are losing these species as a result of global warming," Vitt said. Tropical species are affected more by the very narrow temperature range of their typically warm climate than are ectotherms living where the temperatures fluctuate in greater degrees. Even the smallest change in the tropics tropics, also called tropical zone or torrid zone, all the land and water of the earth situated between the Tropic of Cancer at lat. 23 1-2°N and the Tropic of Capricorn at lat. 23 1-2°S. makes a difference to the tropical species most susceptible to climate change. "Climatic shifts are part of our natural history, but years of research indicate global warming has increased the rate at which climate change is taking place," said Vitt. As populations grow around the world, so does consumption. In the densest areas of the world, the elimination of animals that feed on disease vectors, such as mosquitoes and flies, adds to our growing human health problem. "The loss of these predators, like tropical species, upset the natural biodiversity of the ecosystem," said Vitt. "The effects may not be so obvious in the short term, but the long-term effects will be irreversible," he added. "Our ability to connect with nature and better understand tropical lizards is important because these animals serve as model organisms for detecting the effects of global warming
The predicted effects of global warming on the environment and for human life are numerous and varied. It is generally difficult to attribute specific natural phenomena to long-term causes, but some effects of ," Vitt summarized. "Ecosystems are complex and interdependent. When one species becomes extinct, the entire system is affected. The long-term effects on human health can be dramatic," he said. (ANI) Copyright 2009 Asian News International The Asian News International (ANI) agency provides multimedia news to China and 50 bureaus in India. It covers virtually all of South Asia since its foundation and presently claims, on its official website, to be the leading South Asia-wide news agency. (ANI) - All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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